1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the distribution of media content. More particularly, the present invention relates to network mediated delivery of television content.
2. Background Art
Historically, the availability of television (TV) content has been dictated by the networks providing TV programming, limiting viewer choice to selection among the offerings of relatively few competing broadcast networks during a given time slot. The linear TV broadcasting model many TV viewers have grown accustomed to involves those viewers watching what is offered as “on air” or linear TV programming, according to a predetermined broadcast schedule. TV viewers typically learn about and find programs to watch through a program listing, which can be, for example, a paper listing or an electronic listing on the TV, such as an Electronic Program Guide (EPG). While this conventional approach to identifying desirable programming may have been helpful to viewers when the programming choices were relatively limited, it has grown progressively more inefficient as programming networks and network content has proliferated.
FIG. 1A is a diagram representing a traditional linear TV viewing experience. In the traditional TV viewing experience, a network assumes responsibility for entertaining a viewer by presenting a slate of shows. If the viewer does not like the shows that are presented by the network, the viewer can switch to a competing network. As may be seen from FIG. 1A, the dominant paradigm for consumption in the traditional viewing experience is that content, selected by the networks, is pushed to viewers, whose selection options are limited to accepting or rejecting the pushed content.
More recently, the emergence of video-on-demand (VOD) viewing capability through videocassette recorders (VCRs), digital video recorders (DVRs), broadband and cable video on-demand have substantially increased the number of consumer options available to viewers. What is more, those innovations have shifted the dominant paradigm for television content consumption. In the face of this evolving and expanding universe of available television content to choose from, the traditional consumer selection interfaces, e.g., paper program listings and electronic program listings on TV, are no longer effective. Furthermore, the on-demand selection interfaces provided to inform viewers about VOD content options are largely based on Internet metaphors, and rely mainly on cascading menus and hierarchical categorization of content. Because that Internet format may not be familiar to traditional television viewers, nor in harmony with the typical television usage of most of viewers, it has not succeeded in providing an effective consumer interface for VOD content.
FIG. 1B is a diagram representing a conventional VOD viewing experience. In the traditional VOD viewing experience, many shows are made available for a viewer to choose from, allowing the viewer to decide what to watch and when to watch it. As may be seen from comparison of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the transition from a traditional television viewing experience to a traditional VOD viewing experience introduces a consumption paradigm that shifts the burden of selection almost entirely to the viewer. Thus, whereas in the past, and even today on linear television, content is pushed to the viewer, under the VOD consumption paradigm it is incumbent on the viewer to identify and pull desired content from the networks. As the inventory of available shows increases, however, the viewer can be required to exert more effort to determine what to watch and where to find it, transforming what is intended to be a recreational and entertaining experience into and increasingly frustrating and burdensome one.
The enhanced control over content consumption exercised by viewers according to the VOD consumption paradigm also has consequences for advertisers seeking to target a viewing audience. FIG. 2A shows a diagram representing a traditional linear TV advertising experience. In the traditional linear TV advertising experience, advertisers typically broadcast an ad multiple times during a program, in order to imprint awareness of their product or service on viewers who may be largely indifferent to the advertising content. This approach is of limited effectiveness with a truly uninterested viewer, and can result in audience frustration even for viewers predisposed to be receptive to the advertising content. Consequently, the traditional linear TV advertising experience is often unappreciated by the viewer and may result in significant unrequited expenditure by the advertiser.
FIG. 2B shows a diagram representing a typical advertising experience for a user of a DVR. Stated more bluntly, FIG. 2B shows ad skipping by a DVR user. In reality, a fairly large percentage of ads are skipped by DVR users, for example, through fast forwarding past the ads. Clearly, allowing viewers to simply skip ads creates an unattractive advertising environment for those expending funds to deliver the advertising content. Moreover, although in some VOD implementation users can be prevented from engaging in ad skipping, that simply results in reversion to the traditional linear advertising experience, which, as previously described may be undesirable for several reasons. Thus, blocking a user's ability to fast forward through ads fails to address the problems of viewer frustration and unrequited investment by advertisers.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a solution enabling a viewer to readily identify and locate television content of interest. The solution should further provide a means for advertisers to effectively deliver advertising content to the viewer in a manner that engages the viewer as a participant in an interactive process.